Explosion engine



WITNESSES ATTO R NEY Oct. 30, 1923;

ll. CUNNINGHAM ET AL EXPLOSION ENGINE Filed March l5, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 WITNESSES ATTO R N EY oct. 3o', 1923;

l. CUNNINGHAM ET AL EXPLOSION ENGINE 4 Sheets-Shet 5 Filed March v15. 1920 INVElNTORl s E s s E N n w ATTORNEY Oct. 30, 1923. 1,472,634

l. CUNNINGHAM r-:T Al.

EXPLOSION ENGINE ATTORNEY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 15.

Patented Oct'. 30, 1923. 1

UNITED STATES IRA CUNNINGHAM AND ROY W.

.1,472,634 PATENT OFFICE.

WAY, 0F COVING'IUN, OKLAHOMA.

EXPLOSION ENGINE Application led March 15, 192B. vSerial No. 365,794.

To all who-m t may Gomera:

Be it known that we, IRA CUNNiNoHAu and ROY W. VAY, citizens of the United States, residing at Covington, in the county of Garfield and State of Oklahoma, have invented anew and useful Explosion Engine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to explosionk charge to the cylinders, Vthe engine being of the multi-cylinder type, is under the control` of pumps, one for each pair of cylinders, with the pumps and cylinders so related that despite the two cycle arrangement, each cylinder is thoroughly scavenged by the fresh charge even though the pistons be moving at a high rate of speed. It is important, inf order to get economical and powerful action, that the burnt or dead gases be forcibly and completely expelled by .the incoming charge. This is mechanically done like the four cycle type of engine and is performed by the pump. Since each pump controls the charge to two cylinders, the capacity of the pump is made suiicient for the purpose, and because of the thorough explosion of the burnt gases, each cylinder gets a full charge of fresh gases, therein differing `from the ordinary type of two cycle engines.

In carrying out the invention and considering only the action of one pump and two related cylinders, the pistons of the pump and cylinders are so positioned with respect to each other, that the exhaust ports of the power cylinders are opened a short interval before the fresh charge already partially compressed by the pump is allowedto pass into the power cylinder, whereupon the fresh charge under compression is directed toward the head of the cylinder to return toward the exhaust ports, which latter progressively open due to the power stroke of the power pistons. The pump completes its compression stroke while the piston of'the power cylinder is returning on the compression stroke, and because of the lead of the pump piston thel final movement of the power piston compresses the power charge to the full degree of compression desired. While this finall compression is occurring,

the pump is on the intake stroke and ultimately passes to the compression stroke, so that when the charge is forced into the power cylinder it has the requisite compress1on imparted to it.

The invention also contemplates the use of a valve structure in the pump whereby losses which heretofore have occurred in two cycle engines during the compression of the charge, are avoided. v

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, with the understanding, however, that the invention is not confined to any strict conformity with the showing in the drawings, but may be changed and modified so long as such changes and modifications mark no material departure from the salient features of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. lis a view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section of an explosion engine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an irregular cross section through the machine, the section cutting a'power cyl- 'inder on one side of the upright central.

plane and a pump on the opposite side thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan lview of the power cylinders and pumps on one side of the engine, omitting some parts.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section through the structure shown in Fig. 3 on the plane of the intake and exhaust valves of the power cylinders.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the crank centers in different positions.

Fig. 6 is a plan and edge view of a feather valve plate used in connection with the pumps. i f

Fig. 7 is a plan and cross section of a valve holding member associated with the valve plate of a pump.

Fig. 8 shows plan and edge views of valve strips. y v

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a crank case 1 in which is journaled a crank shaft 2 having end journal bearings 3 and an intermediate journal bearing 4. In the particular showing of the drawings, the crank shaft is provided with six wrist pins 5, although it is to be understood that any other appropriate number ot' wrist pins may be employed depending upon the size of the engine and the number ot' power units of which the engine is composed. In Fig. 1, there are shown one halt` of the total number of power units, each composed of two power cylindersl 6, each carrying a piston 7 connected by a pitman 8 to one of the wrist pins 5. The showing of the drawings is that of an 8-cylinder two-cycle internal combustion engine of the V type of disposition of the cylinders, although it is to be understood that while there are certain advantages in such arrangement, the invention is by no means limited thereto. The charges for the cylinders are delivered thereto by means of pumps, each pump 9 supplying two cylinders 6, and each pair of cylinders and the pump belonging to it are, for convenience and economy of construction, cast en bloc, wherefore an 8-cylinder engine, in the construction shown in the drawings, comprises four groups each consisting of two cylinders and a pump, with two groups on one side of the longitudinal center plane of the engine and two groups on the other side thereof. Each pump 9 is provided with a pump piston 1() and a pitman 11. The several pitmen are con nected to respective wrist pins 5 so that a pitman 11 on one side of the central plane of thel machine is connected to the same wrist pin 5 as the corresponding pitman on the other side of the machine. ln order to provide for such an arrangement, one pitman connected to a wrist pin 5 has a head 12 bifurcated to straddle the head 13 of the opposed pitman, wherefore VJthe pistons 7 of the corresponding opposed cylinders work in unison. Similarly, a pitman 11 of a pump on one side of the longitudinal central plane of the engine has a bifurcated head 14 engaging the corresponding wrist pin 5 while the pitman 11 of the opposite pump has a head 15 engaginthe same wrist pin 5.

ach piston 7 has a curved delector 16 on its head and projecting into the explosion chamber 17 of the cylinder, while the end of the explosion chamber 17 toward which the deiector 16 is directed has a concaved' wall 18, see Fig. 2,-after the usual twocycle engine practice. At an appropriate positlon with respect to the length of the power cylinder there is provided an exhaust v port 20. The arrangement is such that on the power stroke of the power piston the exhaust port 19 is opened a small fraction of time prior to the opening of the inlet port.

Cast in one piece with the pump and power cylinders of a unit is a passageway 21 communicating with the intake ports 20 and with the outer end of the pumpcylinder 9, the passageway 21 connecting to both power cylinders directly and by a branch 22 tothe interior of the pump cylinder 9, the passageway 21 and the branch'22 forming an intake manifold which embraces one side ot' the power and pumpcylinder unit. Seated in the branch 22 is a screen 23, shown in Fig. 2, and this screen is held in place and rendered easily accessible by a cover plate 24 secured by screws or bolts 25.

The passageway 21 is individual to a unit and forms the means by which a charge compressed by the pump 9 is forced into both power cylinders of the same unit at the same time. The exhaust ports 19 communicate with an exhaust duct 26 which may be secured by bolts or screws 27 or in other manner toboth units on either side of the engine where the engine is a multi-unit engine as shown in the drawings.

Each power cylinder 6 is provided with a. water jacket 28, which may follow the usual practice., and a spark plug 29, and the piston 7 is furnished with the usual packing rings 30 and 31, while a pitman 8 is connected to the piston 7 by the customary wrist pi'n 32 which may intersect a lubricating groove 33, these several features being common to gas engines.

The pump piston 10 is provided with packing rings 34, a wrist pin 35 and lubricant groove 36 similar to those provided for the power pistons, except that the lpacking rings 34 may ,be of a different character from the rings 30, since they do not have to withstand great heat.

Each pump 9 is furnished with a cylinder head 37 having the inner face 38 slanting from one side toward the other to better distribute an incoming charge. 'The head 37 is held to the cylinder 9 by cap screws 39 or in other appropriate lmanner.

Through one side of the cylinder 9 close to the thinner side of the head 37 is a port 40 connected by a pipe 41 or in other appropriate manner with a source of fuel, such, for instance, as a carbureter, which latter, which may be of well known construction, is not shown in the drawings.

The end of the piston or compression chamber ofthe cylinder 9 is closed by a bridge-plate 42 shown linstalled' in Fig. 2 and separately in Fig.` 7. The bridge-plate 42 has a peripheral ange 43 seating in a circular channel 44 in the head of the cylinder 9 and the face of the plate or block remote from the compression chamber of the cylinder is concaved as shown at 45. Extending through the bridge-plate or block 42 1s a series of passages 46 shown as belng longer than they are wide and in substantlally parallel relation. vEngaging the concaved face of the block 42 is a series of spring strips 47, 48 shown separately in Fig. 8.

Over-lying the strips 47 48 is a feather valve plate 49 shown separately in F ig. 6. This plate has elongated. passages or valve seats 50 against which the strips 47 and 48, constituting valves, engage. The plate 49 1s held against the strips 47 48 and the latter against the block or plate 42 by set screws 51 extending through the head 37 and each held against displacement by a lock nut 52.

4The en ine shown in the drawings comprises a p urality of units each in itself constituting a two-cycle engine composed of two power cylinders arranged on opposite sides of a pump cylinder and the three c linders cast en bloc with the pistons lo the cylinders connected to a power shaft having three cranks of which those for the two power cylinders are symmetrically arranged and that for the pump cylinder is displaced circularly to a certain extent so as to be nonsymmetrical with relation to the other two cranks.

The operation of the engine may be understood from a consideration of one unit and as the two power cylinders of the unit are alike, the operation and relation of a single power cylinder and of the pump belonging to the same unit only need be considered. For this purpose, reference may be had particularly to Fig. 5, which shows a more or less dlagrammatic superposition of a power cylinder upon a pump cylinder. The parts are so proportioned that when the power piston 7 on the power stroke'has approached the termination of the power stroke sol closely that the exhaust port 19 is partly uncovered by the power piston and the intake port 20 is about to be opened b the power piston, the crank pin 5 connecte to the pitman 8 of the power piston has reached a point about forty-six degrees from the lower dead center point of the crank shaft, this position of the crank pin being shown at a in Fig. 5, it being assumed that the crank shaft is turning clockwise as viewed in Fig. 5. At this time the crank pin 5 connected to the pitman 8 of the pump piston l() is in the position indicated at b in Fig. 5. This means that the power piston, when the intake port is about to open, is approximately .forty-six degrees behind lower dead center at the position a in Fig. 5, and the pump piston is on the upper o-r compression stroke Aabout eightyeight degrees past bottomv dead center, or one hundred and thirty-four degrees ahead of the power piston crank, as shown at b in Fig. 5; wherefore when ,the ump cylinder reaches upper dead cen'ter with its crank vpin 5 at the position o in Fig. 5, the power cylinder will have reached forty-six degrees past lower dead. center, as shown at d in Fig. 5, at., which point the intake port is closed.

At the time that the intake port is first opened, the pump piston has traversed about half of its compression stroke so thatl the fresh charge is under considerable cornv pression and during the time that the'intake port is open the fresh charge is forcibly propelled through the intake port, the stream of gas striking the deflector 16 ris ing through the interior of the cylinder and then striking the concaved upper end of ythe cylinder to be returned thereby toward the exhaust port. The result is the thorough scavenging of the cylinder and when the power piston continues its return or compression stroke after closing the exhaust port there remains in the power cylinder practically nothing but an undiluted fresh charge to be compressed in the usual manner and ignited. This results in a power ful explosion similar to that obtained in a four-cycle explosion engine because of the purity of the charge, which pure charge not obtainable in a two-cycle engine as ordinarily constructed.

Furthermore, the use of the feather valve in the charge pump is productive of a much more eilicient charge than occurs in the ordinary two-cycle engine where the gases must travel to a relatively great distance from the pump to the intake of the power cylinder, the invention contemplating .a very short line of travel with the inlet valve to the pump cylinder having large areas offering but little resistance to the fiowv of the charge into the pump cylinder.

When the pump piston is movingy on the suction stroke, the valve strips or leaves 47, 48, being of spring material, readily move away from the valve plate 49 uncovering the passages'or ports 50 and permitting a free flow of the gas through the assages 46 into the interior of the pump cy inder. On the return or compression stroke of the pump the valve strips 47, 48 are forced tightly against the plate 49, holding the gas in the pump from' escape and compressing the charge during about half the compression stroke of the pump. At this point, the port 20 begins to open after a portion of the exploded charge has escaped through the exhaust port 19, whereupon the fresh charge under considerable pressure but not fully compressed, enters the power cylinder and expels the last remnants of the spent gases. The charge introduced into the power cylinder and in ak state where it is uncon taminated `by remnants of spent gases is then compressed by the compression stroke of the llO lill) power piston, the same as in a four-cycle engine. During this compression stroke of the power piston and during the power stroke, the power piston forms an effective closure between/ the power cylinder and the pump cylinder, or more properly, between the two power cylinders and the pump cylinder` since the engine unit comprises two power` cylinders fed simultaneously by one pump cylinder. This closure continues during the power strokes of the power pistons and during part of the compression stroke of the pump piston and communication between the pump and the power cylinders is only established after the partial and suiiiciently complete exhaustion of the spent gases from the power cylinders and sufficient compression of the charge to avoid any possibility of back firing with respect to the first charge when it finds admission to the power cylinders. v

The invention is adapted to the construction of both high and low speed engines of the two'c cle type and each unit includes three cyhnders, .of which one is a. pump cylinder and two are power cylinders. The single unit may be used alone or two units may be utilized, thus making a six-cylinder engine or four units may be disposed in V relation, thus making a 12cylinder engine and such 12-cylinder engine is particularly adapted to the V type.

What is claimed is:-

1. JA two-cycle engine unit comprising two power cylinders and a pump cylinder cast in one piece, and having a fuel duct leading directly from the pump cylinder to the power cylinders, said fuel duct leading downwardly and outwardly and constituting an intake manifold cast integrally with and upon the communicating side only of the pump and power cylinders.

v 2. A two-cycle explosion engine unit comprising two power cylinders with an intermediately located pump cylinder having a fuel duct leading directly from the pump cylinder to each of the power cylinders, and a water jacket, all cast in one piece, said fuel duct being located on one 4side of the cylinder block and in contact comprising two ower cylinders and a pump cylinder or directing explosive charges into the power cylinders, a fuel passageway connecting the power cylinders and having a valved intake port, ports between the passageway and respective power cylinders, a pump connected with `the passageway and operable to draw successive charges thereinto and ex el the same through the last-mentione ports, valves controlling the last-mentioned ports so as to alternately charge the respective cylinders, and means for exploding the charges successively after they have been introduced into the cylinders.

5. A two-cycle explosion engine unit comprising two power cylinders and an intermediately located pump cylinder each with apiston therein, the unit having a fuel duct leading from the pump cylinder directly to each power cylinder and the pump cylinder having a capacity to supply both power cylinders simultaneously with fuel, and a crank shaft to which the pistons of the power cylinders vand of the pump cylinder are connected, the ymovements of the pump and power pistons being timed to cause a partial compression of the fuel charge by the pump cylinder while the other pistons are moving on the power stroke and to continue the compression stroke during the time that the inlet ports to the power cylinders are opened by the pistons of the power cylinders.

6. A two-cycle explosion engine comprising power and fuel pump cylinders and pistons therein, a pump cylinder being connected by a fuel passageway to a pair of power cylinders and cast en bloc with said power cylinders, and a crank shaft with cranks to which the pistons are connected and-timed in action to cause the pump pistonl to partially complete its compression stroke before the power -pistons have completed a power stroke, and to complete its compression stroke during the time the power pistons have uncovered the inlet ports to the power cylinders.

7. In a two-cycle explosion engine, the combination of power cylinders, each having an intake port, and a fuel cylinder pump for supplying charges of fuel to the power cylinders and provided with an inlet port and an outlet port, a passageway connecting the intake ports of the power cylinders and communicating with said outlet port of the pump, valves controlling said intake ports so as to admit charges in turn to the several cylinders upon operation of t-he pump, and a valve in the pump cylinder between said outlet and ports.

8. In a two-cycle explosion engine, the combination of power cylinders each having an intake port, and a fuel cylinder inlet pump for supplying charges of fuel thereto, said fuel pump being provided with a head having an inclined inner surface and an inlet port adjacent said head, a con- 5 stantly open outlet port for the pump cylinder, a manifold connecting the outlet port of the pump 'cylinder with the intake ports of the respective power cylinders, valves controlling said intake ports of the l0 power cylinders so as to admit charges in turn to the several power cylinders upon operation of the fuel pump, and a partition extending across the ump cylinder between the outlet and inlet ports of the pum and having an opening therethrough provided with a check valve.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aixed our Signatures.

IRA CUNINGHAM.

RoY w.` wAY. 

